Crutches are putting a strain on his heart
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – BEING on crutches for 23 years, 47-year-old Stennett ‘Kwando’ Harvey, a left-leg amputee and farmer of Saddlers Village, is said to be continually overstressing his heart by engaging in agriculture activities and is therefore seeking the public’s assistance to acquire a prosthetic leg.
Harvey, popularly known as the ‘Honey Man’, is a Rastafarian and the holder of a Taekwondo Black Belt. Although he had lost his leg in a traffic accident while riding his motorcycle, Harvey is physically fit and daily exerts his energies on his farm in an effort to maintain himself and life partner.
In February this year, Harvey received news that Hanger Prosthetic & Orthotics Inc. in Sarasota, Florida, USA would provide him with a prosthetic leg as a donation from management.
However, there is an obstacle that is preventing Harvey from attaining the prosthetic leg.
According to information gained at http://www.gofundme.com/KwandoLegAppeal, he needs US12 000 to cover expenses, which include airfare, accommodation, socket-fitting and transportation to and from the mobility clinic during his two to three-week stay in Florida, but, so far, he has only raised US4 000.
Some of the money raised was through a concert that was held on Sunday (Mar. 3) at 17 Degrees, which featured Socrates with the Kool Rhythms Band.
Harvey’s life partner, Elisabeth Karamat, informed SKNVibes that an official from Hanger Prosthetic & Orthotics Inc. named Hannah, said, “Kwando is fit and it would be good for him to get a leg because he’s constantly overstressing his heart.”
Karamat and Harvey have been living together for almost four years.
She spoke about the experience she gained while trying to walk with crutches…“just to get the feel of it”.
“Walking on crutches, have you ever tried? I tried once and I hurt my foot. And I’ve walked on crutches. And let me tell you, just getting out of bed and going to the kitchen doing my little breakfast and cleaning up afterwards, I was exhausted already.
“It’s exhausting and he’s doing that. Half an hour up to his farm, half an hour down and then up on his farm, he’s doing hard physical work again. He’s working like he’s exercising incredibly and it goes on the heart. It’s like workout doing push ups all the time; like working and doing push ups at the same time.”
According to Karamat, “The leg is waiting and we need to hurry up. The leg is not going to be there for a century. It’s not going to be there forever and he’s overstressing his heart constantly. That’s why there’s urgency.”
Karamat gave a positive review on the concert held at 17 Degrees.
“We had a good concert on the 3rd of March. The band played beautifully. A lot of people don’t know the band. They know Socrates but they don’t know Kool Ryhtms. And when they heard the band, they thought, ‘Wow this is really great music.’
“A lot of people funded and so it’s a great start, but we have to keep it going. We need more money. We need more funding. We’ve raised, so far, all in all, with this concert and with previous activities, US$4 000 and we need a few more thousands. So we have to keep on going. It’s really important.”
Karamat talked about how the loss of Harvey’s leg has affected his livelihood and his self athletic ability.
“He has been without his leg for 23 years…almost 24 years. He lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. A ‘Sugar’ jeep drove into his leg. He was a Black Belt in Taekwondo. Bee Man, farmer, everybody, the policemen and the guys who trained with him in Taekwondo, they say to me that he was a serious athlete. St. Kitts lost an athlete with this accident. His father was completely depressed after the accident.”
Reportedly, Kwando told his father not to worry …“I’m going to get back on my foot. I’m going to get back on track”.
Karamat shared that Harvey retreated to his farm in Saddlers following his accident and stayed there without human interaction for three months.
“After the accident, he had a serious crisis and he retreated. He retreated from the fast life…the motorcycles, parties working the hops as a security man and the training of Taekwondo; all of that so the fast life was over and he retreated on his farm. He became a Rasta. He meditated. He knew he had another purpose in life and that is how it happened. He’s stayed without human contact for three months. Imagine that!”
“He’s very powerful, not just physically but also in his mind…mentally,” she added.
Karamat recalled how Harvey became aware of the high-tech prosthetic legs.
She stated that he had seen a five-year-old double amputee boy running and jumping around while on a leisurely outing at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort in 2012.
“And then a wonderful thing happened. We went to the Marriott to go to the beach and this lady in the hall said to him, ‘You want to hop on those crutches forever?’”
According to Karamat, Harvey explained to lady that he had once been fitted with a prosthetic leg of bad quality and it had caused him much pain and made his movements slower.
“He told her that he’s ‘much better on crutches. Thank you very much’. But the lady told him that there are ‘very good prosthetics’ and soon after she called her son to prove her point. And Kwando sees that little boy on those high-tech prosthetic legs running around on the marble floor of the lobby of the Marriott…jumping and running, and he says, ‘I want a leg like that.’ And this is how it happened, and she said let’s give it a try and she contacted Hanger.”
She said the trip to Hanger Inc. would be “once for three weeks. If everything is alright, if there is no emergency, we just have to go back six months later.”
Asked about Harvey’s impression on the fundraiser efforts to get the prosthetic leg he needs, Karamat said at first he was cautious but now realises that people want to assist him.
“He is careful. The first time he heard about it he was just like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe!’ But then he got a little cautious, you know, because he’s been with this problem for (almost) 24 years and he can’t really believe that people want to help that much that it would happen. But with the concert he saw…he saw the people wanted to help.”
She said they also have fundraising events abroad and people have been generous.
“Even here in St. Kitts, people know him since in his 20s, they know him, they help and then he said, ‘Wow people really want to help me. This is a wonderful thing!’ So it’s also a reconciliation thing that is happening on the island…very important.”
Anyone desirous of making contribution can do so by taking cash, cheques or bank transfer to Nova Scotia Bank account (Transit# 94235 Swift: NOSCKNSK) for Stennett Harvey’s leg.
For further inquiries, individuals can contact Elisabeth Karamat karamat80@hotmail.com or www.facebook.com/SaddlersHerbalProject.
